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Pakistan captain Younus Khan blamed poor starts with both bat and ball as the main reason for his team’s loss to Sri Lanka in the Super Eights match here at Lord’s on Friday.
Good starts, by the looks of things is what Pakistan is dearly missing, an absence of which throughout the tournament seems to worry the Pakistan camp as well.
‘We have the potential but our players seem to miss out on good starts, both while bowling and batting,’ Younus Khan, Pakistan’s captain, said after the 19-run loss.
‘In this match, for example, we had a poor first over by Sohail Tanvir who gave away 18 runs including a few extras. Then again with the bat we lost Salman Butt in the very first over. So obviously that is something we need to work on.’
The horrendous first over by Tanvir — labelled a match-winner by Younus — provided an ideal platform for Sanath Jayasuriya and Tillekaratne Dilshan to latch onto. They did so for the first nine overs and prior to Shahid Afridi’s timely intrusion, Sri Lanka looked oncourse for a healthy total.
‘I was quite happy to have restricted them for 150. At one point it looked as if they would easily reach 200. Our spinners once again put in a good performance and we looked comfortable chasing that target if not for the regular wickets we kept losing.’
Afridi, shining once again with the ball, took two for 23 while briefly overtaking Umer Gul as international Twenty20’s leading wicket-taker. As a bowler, he has been Pakistan’s saviour and go-to guy of late.
With the bat, however, he poses a huge worry. A first-ball slog today failed to help Pakistan’s cause but Younus refused to show much concern.
‘We have all seen Afridi in the past. All he needs is one innings to get back into form but unfortunately for us it didn’t come today.
However, he still is a very important member of the side and his contribution with the ball and in the field has been tremendous.’
‘Though our fielding wasn’t that bad today, we gave away too many runs where we should not have [extras]. In a match like this, where the total is in front of you, we needed to form partnerships, perhaps someone who could’ve batted for 20 overs. We failed to do that and hence lost,’ said Younus.
In the end, it was Sri Lanka’s commitment to the task at hand, and pin-point accuracy with the ball by Lasith Malinga, that has left Pakistan with lot of thinking before Saturday’s late match against New Zealand at The Oval.
Some eyes may be on Salman Butt’s performance at the top of the order and some, perhaps, will be on a late arrival into the team, Abdul Razzaq.
© Faras Ghani 2009
Published in DAWN newspaper June 13, 2009
An early exit loomed briefly before Pakistan laboured into the Super Eights. But the Super Eights may not be as forgiving as the orange threats as Pakistan take on the ferociousness and twirls of Sri Lanka at Lord’s on Friday.
Pakistan captain Younus Khan has focussed on getting the basics right in order to go past the first hurdle while hoping his wish of playing India in the final comes true.
Speaking to the media on the eve of the match, Younus urged his team to focus on the job in hand, despite the law and order conditions back home, and do well in tournament for the nation’s sake.
‘They (Sri Lanka) are a very good side and we all are aware of this,’ Younus said. ‘We have played a lot against them recently and we know their team very well. However, we must ensure that we get things right at the right time and, providing that happens, we are capable of beating anyone.’
While backing his batsmen to counter the spin threat that Sri Lanka poses, Younus welcomed the inclusion of Abdul Razzaq – who is due to arrive in England late Friday afternoon – despite his past links with the ICL and termed it a relief after losing Yasir Arafat due to injury.
‘Although Razzaq will arrive here tomorrow [Friday] it will not be possible for him to play the match after spending seven to eight hours on the plane. However, being the fantastic allrounder that he is, especially in Twenty20 cricket, he can be in our playing eleven for the remainder of the tournament. His return will be good for Pakistan cricket,’ said Younus.
With the potential the Pakistani team possesses, it sometimes appears as though they lack focus thus resulting in being caught off-guard and being handed heavy losses.
‘It is hard for my team to focus at times, especially with the situation back home. That bomb blast in Peshawar, for example, which happens to be my hometown, did take our minds off cricket and it becomes difficult to concentrate on cricket. But this is what cricket’s about and we need to ensure we start this round well.’
In Sri Lanka they have an opposition which has endured tough times off the field. They have also dumped Australia out of the tournament before stopping West Indies well short of a healthy target of 192.
With the team scoring runs, taking wickets and holding onto their catches, complacency can easily be a bigger threat than Pakistan’s unpredictability but the Sri Lankan captain chose to label it confidence.
‘Yes, we have a lot of confidence going into tomorrow’s match, especially after beating two good teams, but this is Twenty20 cricket and a bad five-minute spell on the field can bring about your downfall,’ Kumar Sangakkara said at Lord’s on Thursday.
‘We played against Pakistan recently and we know the team inside out but these are different conditions and a different game altogether. It all depends on tomorrow’s performance, whichever team wants it more will come out on top basically.’
The biggest threat to Pakistan will arguably be that almost-40 maestro at the top of the order, Sanath Jayasuriya, especially following a blistering 47-ball 81 against Jerome Taylor, Fidel Edwards and Co on Wednesday. But Sangakkara is refusing to put much pressure on Jayasuriya.
‘As a side we’ve never had any doubts over what he [Jayasuriya] can do. It added to his and the team’s confidence that he got those runs [against West Indies] and the manner he got them in. However, we have a strong batting line-up that follows so despite the opening partnership being crucial, it won’t be the end of the world if he fails to click.’
Not wanting his bowlers to take a back seat, despite Pakistan’s potentially-explosive batting line-up, Sangakkara also laid much emphasis in his spinners, namely Ajantha Mendis and Muttiah Muralitharan.
Five wickets in the tournament for Mendis so far while Murali only has a solitary scalp against West Indies to bring into the match, Sangakkara is keen for the duo to form yet another great partnership.
‘Spin has been our strength for years and it won’t change tomorrow. If you’re a good bowler, batsmen will find it difficult to play you no matter what format of the game it is in. Hopefully, our spinners will keep performing and adding to their strengths and win us games like they have done in the past.’
With forecast of overcast and windy conditions, it is perhaps time for Pakistan’s fast bowlers, especially Sohail Tanvir and Mohammad Aamir, to show why they are considered among the best in the country. And while Sangakkara plans one match at a time, Younus is already hoping for a Pakistan-India final at Lord’s.
‘I have good memories of Lord’s having managed good scores everytime I have turned up,’ Younus said. ‘Therefore, although we have hurdles to cross before that, I hope I lift the trophy at Lord’s at the end of the tournament.’
© Faras Ghani 2009
Published in DAWN newspaper June 12, 2009
Pakistan captain Younus Khan blamed poor starts with both bat and ball as the main reason for his team’s loss to Sri Lanka in the Super Eights match here at Lord’s on Friday.
